Investors Purchase High Volume of Transocean Call Options (NYSE:RIG)

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders purchased 75,236 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 259% compared to the typical daily volume of 20,949 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on RIG. StockNews.com raised shares of Transocean to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of Transocean in a report on Friday, August 2nd. DNB Markets raised shares of Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Transocean from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.13.

Transocean Price Performance

Transocean stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $4.69. 10,573,241 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,488,115. The firm has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of -8.94 and a beta of 2.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.38. Transocean has a 12 month low of $3.85 and a 12 month high of $8.03.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $861.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $862.25 million. Transocean had a negative net margin of 11.34% and a negative return on equity of 4.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.15) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Transocean will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Transocean

In related news, Director Perestroika acquired 1,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.13 per share, for a total transaction of $6,195,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 91,074,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,139,312.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Transocean news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika acquired 2,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $5.23 per share, for a total transaction of $10,460,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 89,574,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,476,695.62. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Perestroika acquired 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.13 per share, with a total value of $6,195,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 91,074,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,139,312.22. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 13.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Transocean

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in Transocean in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Transocean by 138.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,633 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,693 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Transocean during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Fiducient Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Transocean during the 1st quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Transocean in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Transocean Company Profile

Transocean Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells worldwide. It contracts mobile offshore drilling rigs, related equipment, and work crews to drill oil and gas wells. The company operates a fleet of mobile offshore drilling units, consisting of ultra-deepwater floaters and harsh environment floaters.